Amanda Tapping Biography

Actor, producer, and director Amanda Tapping's career is a prime example of slow and steady wins the race. She built her livelihood on a single role in the television series "Stargate SG-1," a franchise based on the 1994 film "Stargate." While the movie entered with a strong box office, it then tapered off and drew a lukewarm critical response. But in spite of its shaky start, the franchise would eventually better "The X-Files" in terms of its duration, doggedly achieving the cult status that would propel it towards becoming a major small screen success.

Born on August 28, 1965 in Rochford, England, Tapping's family moved to Canada when she was three. In her early years she showed equal promise in both the dramatic arts and the sciences at North Toronto Collegiate Institute. To her parents' chagrin, theater prevailed and Tapping went on to major in drama at the University of Windsor School of Dramatic Arts in Ontario. Tapping appeared in a handful of stage productions before landing her first television role.

In 1991 Tapping appeared as a newscaster on the popular Canadian series, "Street Legal" (CBC 1987-1994), a show known for its revolving door of guest actors such as Margot Kidder and Eric McCormack. In 1994 she made her first of two appearances on "Kung Fu: The Legend Continues" (PTEN 1993-97). In 1995 she had a small role in the television movie "Net Worth" (CBC 1995), and on the Canadian vampire detective series "Forever Knight" (CBS 1992-96). She went on to appear in a series of small roles over that year before landing her first reoccurring role on a 1996 teen series that featured an up-and-coming Ben Foster, "Flash Forward" (Disney/ABC, 1996-97).

The same year Tapping appeared in a series of one-offs that included a children's series based on the R. L. Stine horror anthologies "Goosebumps" (YTV 1995-98) and the critically acclaimed Canadian comedy-drama "The Newsroom" (CBC 1996-2005). She also played the love interest of Assistant Director Skinner on an episode of the perennial sci-fi juggernaut "The X-Files" (FOX 1993-2002). But by 1997, the actor had tapped into another sci-fi series that would come to define her career.

In 1997 Tapping was first cast in the role of Lt. Col. Samantha Carter in the science fiction television series "Stargate SG-1" (Showtime/Syfy 1997-2007), based on the 1994 film that featured sci-fi perennial Kurt Russell and sci-fi newbies James Spader and Jaye Davidson, who previously starred as the transwoman in Neil Jordan's "The Crying Game" (1992). This role opened the door to her inclusion in subsequent iterations of the program. In 2005 Tapping began a four-year stint on the second series in the franchise, "Stargate: Atlantis" (Syfy 2004-09), appearing as the same character but with a higher military rank, Colonel Samantha Carter.

In 1998 she appeared on another series with a major sci-fi pedigree, "The Outer Limits" (Showtime 1995-2000), a reboot of the chilling original 1963 anthology series that had "Stargate SG-1" co-creators Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner serving as producers. In 1999 Tapping landed a role on another show by "The X-Files" creator Chris Carter, the quietly paranoid apocalyptic sleeper "Millennium"(FOX 1996-99). Tapping did appear in several other television one-off roles throughout the following decade, although the "Stargate" franchise monopolized most of her time.

In 2007, Tapping resurfaced as Dr. Helen Magnus on eight episodes of the Canadian sci-fi miniseries "Sanctuary" (Syfy 2007) and served as executive producer as well on one episode. In 2008, she returned to the "Stargate" franchise in two videos, "Stargate: The Ark of Truth" and "Stargate: Continuum," and reprised her role as both actor and producer for another 59 episodes of "Sanctuary" (SYFY 2008-11). Between 2012 and 2013, Tapping played the recurring role of Naomi on the long-running fantasy series about brothers locked in a dance with the devil, "Supernatural" (The WB 2005-06, The CW 2006-).